Aussie mum Deena Shanahan hasn’t paid for a flight – including 10 business class and two first class flights – in three years. The 52-year-old from Noosa became an avid points collector in the lead up to her 50th birthday after dreaming of flying to New York, a destination she’d never visited, in business class.The mother of two didn’t want to pay the hefty price tag often associated with flying on the pointy end of the plane, so instead, she made it her mission to collect enough points for her and her husband to travel to the bustling US city for “free”. And she pulled it off. At the time, a return business class flight with Qantas would have cost her $12,000. This translated to 260,000 points. The only thing Ms Shanahan had to pay for was $800 in taxes – $1600 in total for both her and her husband.“When we stepped foot in that cabin, it was like, ‘Oh my gosh I’ve made it’. I put those Qantas pyjamas on and it was like a dopamine hit, I was just like ‘wow’,” Ms Shanahan told news.com.au.She recalled the moment a passenger from economy walked past her seat and said “this is my dream one day”, referring to flying business class.“I remember thinking, if only more people knew how to do this – how can I teach everyday Australians how to do this?”And that’s where the idea to launch her now successful points hacking business – The House of Points – began.She said the concept is super simple – it’s designed to help Aussies convert their everyday spending on items like groceries into points, and travel the world without having to pay for a full airfare.It focuses on simplifying loyalty programs such as Flybuys, Virgin Velocity and Qantas Frequent Flyer.“You either love points or loathe them and I want to help simplify something that has become a part of people’s everyday spending,” she said.“As I say, ‘learn once, learn well, and you’ll never need to spend money or pay full price on flights again’.”Ms Shanahan said she hasn’t paid for a flight for the past three years, be it domestic or international, averaging 1.5 million points a year.“My husband has a credit card and gets about 6000 points and I generate about 60,000 a month just by being smarter,” she said.“All of those little transactions from our coffee taps to our haircuts, our new Nike shoes, acai bowls – I compress that into what I call ‘points banking’, so pre-purchasing or knowing where to purchase, to then get those points,” she said.To help make the process easier for herself, she created an app stack which is essentially a folder on her phone with all relevant points apps.Win a $24,000 Dream Ski Trip to Canada“If you go into Bunnings for example and don’t have your Flybuys app on your front screen, you’ll be flicking through your phone and eventually give up and walk out the door,” she said.“So Get Appy is just a folder with all the apps I need that are linked such as the Velocity app, Flybuys, 7-Eleven for the Virgin combo, the Qantas combo with the Everyday Rewards and so on.“Those eight core apps is how I’m flying business and first class all around the world – it’s just having them linked and in one spot.“For me it’s a set and forget situation... once people have to chase points it becomes too difficult.”Ms Shanahan’s clever points hacking skills have allowed her to fly in business class a total of 10 times in three years and first class twice this year alone. “My husband and I went to the US two weeks ago (in Qantas first class), we ticked a bucketlist item and did four nights in Nashville and went to Graceland in Memphis,” Ms Shanahan said.“Earlier this year we went to America again because my children (aged 19 and 21) are studying at university there. We went over in Qantas first class and were coming back in business on Qatar but the war broke out, so we ended up swapping and finding two business class seats out of Paris on Qantas.”First Class – valued at about $25,000 – cost Ms Shanahan around 227,000 in points one way from Sydney to Dallas. She paid the $1600 in taxes. “First class is [incredible],” she said. “It starts way before you get on the aircraft whether that’s Melbourne or Sydney – for us it was Sydney.“It starts with them knowing your name when you get to the desk, then taking you to the private dining room, where you also have your little spa treatment before the flight.“When you get on the aircraft they’re greeting you by your name. There’s only 14 pods on the Qantas A380 – and after you sit down that service is just next level.“You’ve got RM Williams and Aesop products – and dining goes for three hours as opposed to business, which is 1.5 hours.”Ms Shanahan wanted to make clear she’s “just a normal mum” who has been able to enjoy the luxuries of flying on the pointy end by taking advantage of rewards programs. “My friends will tell you, I am not a consumer, most of my dresses are $19 from Sussan. I don’t buy anything expensive. I’ve got the same cushions on my sofa from Adairs, for the past four years,” she said.“All I have learned to do is swap out what normal family expenses are and collect points with it.”She said she no longer needs to budget for flights, as her points take care of that. Instead, it’s just spending money and accommodation she needs to worry about when travelling.“By the time I come home I have recapped half my trip in points through accommodation … all this without credit cards,” she said.“I’ve never relied on credit card points, they’re just the cherry on top.”She said her business also doesn’t focus on using credit cards to collect points, adding she’s not a believer in “churning and burning credit cards”.Ms Shanahan has also taught her two kids how to collect and redeem points, which has allowed them to travel the world for “free”. According to data from Google trends as of July 2026, searches for “loyalty points” have increased by 70 per cent on Google compared to the preceding year, while search volumes for “budgeting tips” and “savings tips” continue to climb. The new research comes as Flybuys launches an interactive ‘Remarkable Trolley’ activation at Westfield Southland in Melbourne on August 6 and 9, with more than $110,000 in prizes.It’s to show Aussies “how easy it is” to turn routine shopping items into rewards. Visit their site for more details. Read related topics:Brisbane